Goodbye Bomde’s Curse, hello LG’s Proof Against Leaders
Is the so-called ‘Bomde’s Curse’ over?
The chances of a successful season for the Lotte Giants are growing. However, proving themselves against the top-ranked LG Twins remains a challenge.
Starting on the 30th, Lotte will play a three-game midweek series against first-place LG at Jamsil Stadium. It’s a big matchup, dubbed the “El Rascico. LG is in first place with 30 wins, one draw and 16 losses (0.652 winning percentage), while Lotte is in third place with 26 wins and 16 losses (0.619 winning percentage).
Both teams have two games in hand, so the outcome of the three-game series is unlikely to change the standings. From LG’s perspective, a 2-1 win to clinch the best-of-seven series would likely keep them atop the standings, overcoming the threat of second-place SSG Landers. However, if Lotte sweeps the three-game series, the standings between LG and the two teams will be reversed.
Lotte swept the best-of-three series at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan from April 11 to 13, winning two games and losing one. In this three-game series, Lotte will also need to look for more than just a win in the long run, rather than looking at the possibility of regaining the lead.
In the long run, Lotte is now a winning team that needs to win more games against the top teams.
While it is important to stabilize the bottom teams for a high winning percentage in the future, it is also crucial for the team to perform equally or better against the teams near the top of the leaderboard.
스포츠토토 The three-game series is also a chance for Lotte to prove its credentials against LG, which is arguably the strongest team in the league this season, and to declare that it has completely shaken off the ‘curse of Bomde’.
For as long as Lotte has been performing far from fall baseball, the phrase “bomde,” meaning “only good in spring,” has followed the team like a curse during the so-called offseason and early season.
But this year is different. Forty-two games into the regular season, Lotte already has a +10 win-loss margin. And after going 14-8 in April (0.636 winning percentage), the team hasn’t seen much of a gap in its monthly winning percentage, going 12-8 in May (0.600 winning percentage). Spring is already long gone.
If Lotte can secure the winning series in the three-game series against LG, they can finish May with the exact same record as April. And if they can finish April and May as the best team back-to-back, they can prove that the curse is no longer on them.
Last year, Lotte finished second with 14 wins, one draw and nine losses (0.609 winning percentage), setting the stage for the rest of the season. However, they plummeted down the standings after a disastrous May, going 9-17 (0.346 winning percentage). This year, however, they have had a much different May, showing the consistency of a powerhouse team.
And if Lotte can get more than a sweep in this three-game series against LG, it could be another valuable unspoken proof that they are a legitimate contender this year.